Not a What, but a Who
Christians speak of the Holy Spirit every week. We sing about Him and say that He lives in every believer. Yet many believers, asked who the Holy Spirit is, would struggle to answer. Some picture a holy atmosphere, a warm feeling in a worship service, or a kind of spiritual energy God sends out. Scripture gives a very different answer. The Holy Spirit is not something. He is Someone.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who has personality and all the attributes of Deity. He thinks, feels, and chooses. He teaches, speaks, guides, and intercedes. He can be lied to, resisted, and grieved. And He is God, equal with the Father and the Son, one of the three persons of the one true God.
This question shapes how every believer walks with God. The evangelist R. A. Torrey observed, in his book The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit (1910), that if we think of the Spirit as a mere power, our question will be how to get more of it. If we know Him as a divine person, our question becomes, “How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?” A power is something you use. A person is Someone you trust, obey, love, and do not want to grieve.
The third person of the Trinity, named third in order but not in rank: fully and eternally God, distinct from the Father and the Son, with mind, affections, and will. He is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, sent by the Father and the Son to dwell in every believer (John 14:16–17; Romans 8:9).
When you think of the Holy Spirit, do you think of a what or a Who? Scripture leaves no doubt. He is a divine person, and He can be known.
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For Deeper Study
- The Person and Work of the Holy SpiritAmazon R. A. TorreyA clear, Scripture-packed classic (1910) whose opening chapters prove the Spirit's personality and deity. Torrey also taught a baptism with the Spirit after conversion, which this platform does not.
- The Holy SpiritAmazon Charles C. RyrieA compact survey of the Spirit's person and work by a dispensational Bible teacher, written for church members.
- The Holy SpiritAmazon John F. WalvoordA thorough study of the Spirit's person and work from a dispensational perspective.
- On the Holy SpiritAmazon Basil of CaesareaA fourth-century defense of the Spirit's deity, argued largely from Scripture. Basil was a bishop of the state church and held its sacramental views.
- Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's WitnessesAmazon Ron RhodesA practical guide for conversations with Jehovah's Witnesses, including what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Trinity
There is one God, and He eternally exists as three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each fully God.
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